embRACE LA 2019
Results from Community Survey and Council Dinners: Analysis for embRACE Workgroup
Advancement Project California
12/18/19
Overview
Between September 10th and November 26th, 2019, embRACE LA
- Collected 542 online surveys from Angelinos who either live, work, or study in the city(i);
- Held 11 conversations with city council members; and
- Collected 112 pre-conversation and 80 post-conversation surveys from dinner participants.
The following reviews the results from the surveys and dinner conversations. Key takeaways include
Perceptions
- The great majority of Angelinos who participated in embRACE LA(ii) do not believe LA City is an equitable and inclusive place to live.
- People who participated in council dinners described an equitable and inclusive city as a place with equal access to opportunities, cohesive and engaged communities, and opportunities for youth.
- Across community surveys and council dinners, housing was viewed as a major barrier to greater equity in the city as well as racism and discrimination. More broadly, during council dinners, inequities in access to opportunities–including housing, education, and the economy–as well as inequities in government, like discriminatory policies in housing and policing and representation of people of color, were lifted as barriers keeping LA from getting to equity.
- Trust in City government is low when it comes to trusting the City to provide equal services or opportunities to participate in decision-making.
ORE Support and Priorities
- The overwhelming majority believe creating greater equity should be a HIGH priority for City government and the great majority of embRACE dinner participants support an ORE.
- The majority prioritize activities for the ORE that involve tangible investments in community, like applying equitable budgeting tools, investing in local minority-owned businesses, hiring diverse city staff from local communities, and providing grants to local organizations working on equity.
- Other more structure and policy building roles are also priorities for the ORE–like assessing current and new city policies based on their racial equity impact, building opportunities and knowledge for community engagement, tracking and reporting data on racial equity indicators to the public and city council.
- In developing and implementing the ORE, dinner participants emphasized considering political will to follow through on the ORE, ensuring accountability of the ORE, building out the power and authority of the ORE, and making sure the office has the right leaders.
(i)Note: A total of 567 community surveys were gathered on the website, but only 542 of these were from individuals who reported either living, working, or studying in LA City. This analysis does not include the 25 individuals without a connection to LA City.
(ii)Note: When interpreting these findings, do keep in mind that they represent the subset of Angelinos who decided to be involved in embRACE either through the survey or the dinners. People who completed the community survey are more likely to identify as women, Black or African American, or ages 25-44 compared to the LA City population. Additionally, many respondents came from council districts in South LA and Mid-City.
Vision for an equitable LA City
During conversations, dinner participants imagined an equitable and inclusive LA City as a place with
- Access to Opportunities: Across several dinners, they emphasized a vision of a city where all communities have equal access to tangible resources and opportunities, like housing, income and wealth, economic opportunity (equity in business and employment), and education.
- Cohesive and engaged communities:They described a place with engaged and cohesive communities. They talked about communities being unified across racial lines and residents knowing and caring for each other. In a handful of dinners, they described communities being more civically engaged and aware of issues.
- Opportunities for youth: In a few dinners, participants described wanting more opportunities for youth, including additional supports, programming, education, and opportunities for youth leadership.
How equitable is LA City?
Only 1 in 4 (22%) of Angelinos who took the survey agreed or strongly agreed that LA City is an equitable and inclusive place to live for people of all races and ethnicities.
Only 1 in 4 (26%) of people attending our dinners agreed or strongly agreed with the same statement.
About 3 in 4 of Angelinos who took the community survey had little or no trust in the city to provide equal city services (77%) or equal opportunities to participate in decision-making for all people (74%).
Dinner participants were slightly more trusting of the city. Though, more than 1 in 2 reported little or no trust in the city to provide people of all races and ethnicities equal city services (69%), equal opportunities to participate in city decision-making (60%), or generally equal treatment (55%).
Housing affordability, gentrification and displacement, and racism and discrimination are viewed as the top barriers to creating a more equitable LA by Angelinos who took the community survey.
Dinner participants most often believed housing affordability, income, and racism and discrimination were among the top 3 barriers to creating a more equitable LA.
Over 50% of Angelinos who took the community survey or participated in the dinners thought housing affordability was one of the top 3 barriers to greater equity in LA.
30% or more of Angelinos who took the community survey or participated in the dinners thought racism and discrimination were one of the top 3 barriers to greater equity in LA.
In dinner conversations, people expanded on these major trends
- Inequity in access to opportunities: Across nearly all dinners, dinner participants described inequities in access to opportunities as primary barriers to getting to a more equitable and inclusive city. They emphasized housing most strongly, including displacement, gentrification, housing affordability, and homelessness. They also lifted up inequities in education, the economy (employment, income) and business, which sometimes tied to liveability in the city.
- Inequity in government and government policies: In several dinners, dinner participants lifted up past and current government policies and representation of people of color in government as challenges to getting to equity. Some participants called out racist government policies, like redlining and frisking. In a handful of dinners, participants touched on the need for more community engagement and representation of people of color in government.
- Inequity in access to opportunities: Across nearly all dinners, dinner participants described inequities in access to opportunities as primary barriers to getting to a more equitable and inclusive city. They emphasized housing most strongly, including displacement, gentrification, housing affordability, and homelessness. They also lifted up inequities in education, the economy (employment, income) and business, which sometimes tied to liveability in the city.
Is LA City equitable
What community members said
What dinner participants said
Top barriers to equity
What community members said
| Count | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Housing affordability | 310 | 57 |
| Gentrification and displacement | 201 | 37 |
| Racism and discrimination | 184 | 34 |
| Public participation | 29 | 5 |
| Environmental justice | 29 | 5 |
| Public safety | 28 | 5 |
| Food security | 22 | 4 |
| City services | 14 | 3 |
What dinner participants said
| Count | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Housing affordability | 58 | 52 |
| Income | 35 | 31 |
| Racism and discrimination | 34 | 30 |
| Food security | 6 | 5 |
| Infrastructure | 5 | 4 |
| City services | 3 | 3 |
Trust in City government
What community members said
What dinner participants said
How much to prioritize equity and the ORE?
Over 4 out of 5 survey respondents (84%) and dinner participants (84%) believed creating greater equity and inclusivity in our city should be a HIGH priority for LA City government and officials.
Over 4 in 5 people attending our dinners (85%) supported or strongly supported created an Office of Racial Equity in LA City.
How much to prioritize equity
What community members said
What dinner participants said
Degree of support for an ORE
What dinner participants said
What should an ORE do?
Angelinos who took the community survey most often believed that to work toward greater equity in LA, the city should invest dollars based on community need (69%), invest in local minority-owned businesses (64%), and make grants to local organizations that are addressing racial equity (60%).
When asked to prioritize what the City should do first with an Office of Racial Equity, dinner participants most often prioritized applying equitable budgeting tools to make city investments based on need (19%).
Investments in local minority-owned business (76%), application of equitable budgeting tools (75%), hiring of diverse city staff from local communities (69%), and grants to local community organizations (68%) are potential ORE activities that dinner participants most often believed would have a HIGH impact on racial equity.
In their conversations, dinner participants lifted up similar roles and other systems and structure for the ORE
- Assessing current and new policies based on racial equity impact: Across almost all of the dinners, dinner participants strongly voiced that the city and ORE could analyze city policies and decisions based on their racial equity impact and make recommendations to city council and other city departments. They called out the ORE making recommendations about housing development, economic development, and policing.
- Building opportunities and knowledge for community engagement: In several dinners, participants talked about the City and ORE creating more spaces for community engagement. The ORE could act as a liaison to the City, connect those most impacted by inequities, or improve community engagement through community education or popular education. In dinners in South LA, participants also talked about the ORE providing spaces for youth leaders and engagement.
- Tracking and reporting on racial equity indicators: In several dinners, dinner participants recommended that the ORE track and report on equity indicators, including sharing data or report cards with both the City and general public. Some dinner participants called out measuring key topics, like early life indicators for youth or criminal justice-related indicators, or general progress toward racial equity.
- Equitable investment in POC businesses: In some dinners, participants talked about the City and ORE generating equitable investment in people of color-led businesses and communities of color.
- Creating opportunities for a diverse workforce: Participants emphasized how the ORE could hire from local communities, including hiring people of color, providing workforce opportunities, and creating a youth leadership pipeline.
- Assessing current and new policies based on racial equity impact: Across almost all of the dinners, dinner participants strongly voiced that the city and ORE could analyze city policies and decisions based on their racial equity impact and make recommendations to city council and other city departments. They called out the ORE making recommendations about housing development, economic development, and policing.
What should LA City do
What community members said
| Count | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| City investments and dollars distributed based on community need | 371 | 69% |
| Investments in local minority-owned businesses | 343 | 64% |
| Grants to local community organizations that are addressing racial equity | 325 | 60% |
| Trainings for city staff on implicit bias, race, and racism | 318 | 59% |
| Hiring diverse city staff from local communities | 307 | 57% |
| Opportunities for public participation in city decision-making | 303 | 56% |
| City decisions made based on their effect on racial equity | 303 | 56% |
| Conversations between City staff and community members about community needs | 296 | 55% |
| Collecting and analyzing data on racial equity and sharing it with the public | 291 | 54% |
| Opportunities and spaces for communities to come together on their own and solve issues | 250 | 46% |
| Guided conversations between community members about race and racism | 238 | 44% |
ORE’s first step
What dinner participants said
| Activity | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Application of equitable budgeting tools to make city investments based on need | 15 | 19% |
| Hiring diverse city staff from local communities | 9 | 11% |
| Investments in local minority-owned businesses | 9 | 11% |
| Grants to local community organizations that are addressing racial equity | 3 | 4% |
| Trainings for city staff on implicit bias, race, and racism | 2 | 2% |
Activities based on highest impact
What dinner participants said
| Activity | Count | Percent High Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Investments in local minority-owned businesses. | 61 | 76% |
| Application of equitable budgeting tools to make city investments based on community need. | 59 | 75% |
| Hiring diverse city staff from local communities. | 55 | 69% |
| Grants to local community organizations that are addressing racial equity. | 54 | 68% |
| Application of a Racial Equity Impact analysis for city officials to use when making policy decisions. | 50 | 62% |
| Collecting and analyzing data on racial equity and sharing it with the public. | 50 | 62% |
| Trainings for city staff on implicit bias, race and racism. | 49 | 61% |
| Trainings for community residents on how to participate in city government. | 49 | 61% |
| Setting racial equity action plans that outline vision, strategies, and actions for the office and city departments. | 47 | 59% |
| Guided conversations between community members about race and racism. | 47 | 59% |
| Establishment of a community oversight commission for the Office of Racial Equity. | 44 | 55% |
| Implementation of civic engagement standards to improve public participation in city decision-making. | 44 | 55% |
Special considerations
- During dinners, partners and community members brought up key considerations and concerns in developing and implementing an ORE in the city. Their key points included
- Ensure political will: Participants across nearly all dinners described being concerned about support and political will from leaders as well as the degree to which the city would follow through on its commitments.
- Ensure accountability: They emphasized the importance of including accountability mechanisms in the design of the ORE. In some dinners, they mentioned having an ORE commission or more generally, making sure the ORE is accessible to community members and held accountable to impacted communities.
- Ensure power and authority: They elevated the importance of making sure the ORE has enough power and authority to influence city council and other departments and generally follow through on its plans.
- Staffing of the office: To moderate concerns about the ORE, participants in a few dinners emphasized considering who leads the office–suggesting there needs to be dedicated people and people of color leading.
- Ensure political will: Participants across nearly all dinners described being concerned about support and political will from leaders as well as the degree to which the city would follow through on its commitments.
Demographics
Map of Survey Respondents
Respondents who live in LA
Zip codes of respondents who indicated they live in LA. Size of dot represents number of individuals who responded at that zip code
Respondents who work in LA
Zip codes of respondents who indicated they work in LA. Size of dot represents number of individuals who responded at that zip code
Race and ethnicity
Community survey respondents
Dinner participants
Length of tenure in LA
Community survey respondents
Dinner participants
Gender
Community survey respondents
Dinner participants
Age
Community survey respondents
Dinner participants
Civic engagement activities
Community survey respondents
| Response | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Voted in an election | 388 | 72% |
| Signed a petition in-person or online | 372 | 69% |
| Volunteered in my community | 347 | 64% |
Dinner participants
| Activity | Count | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteered in my community | 92 | 82% |
| Attended a community meeting | 92 | 82% |
| Attended a public meeting | 87 | 78% |